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Chiropractic In Denver To Prevent Injuries And Improve Sporting Performance

Hamstring Injuries: Why So Common? The hamstring muscles are located on the back of the thigh and made up of three muscles: Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus, and Semitendinosus. Injuries to these muscles have a high rate of occurrence in sports which involve rapid acceleration (Bursts of speed, Sprinting) and full speed running. Read today about Chiropractic in Denver.

How common are injuries to the hamstrings?

They account for 32% of all running-related injuries. To put this into perspective, 6 soccer players will likely suffer a hamstring injury during a season from the whole squad of players.

When Are Injuries Most Likely To Occur?

Injuries to the hamstring usually occur during the eccentric loading of the muscles (i.e., when the hamstrings are from a position where the foot is near the buttock to a position where the leg is straight.) There is some evidence that they are most likely to occur late in training session or towards the end of matches.

What to do with a hamstring injury?

It is essential that you get a thorough examination to assess the damage to the muscle/s, the whole kinematic chain should be assessed to look for the underlying cause of the injury. In the initial stages we always recommend ice to help reduce the inflammation in the area, this should be applied for 10 minutes 3-4 times a day.

Conservative treatment should be hands on (Active Release, Deep Tissue Massage, My other soft tissue techniques) and directed towards breaking down scar tissue at the tear/strain site to ensure effective tissue remodeling and a faster rate of recovery. If the scar tissue is not broken down, there is an increased risk of reinjure due to the nature of scar tissue being less elastic than normal muscle fibers. In patients presenting with hamstring issues will have inhibition (poor muscle strength) of the gluteal muscles on the same side of the hamstring injury, and the gluteal muscles are often tight from lack of stretching and general hip mobility. The patient may also have a previous history of low back pain or knee problems again on the side of a hamstring injury. Exercises should not be started until such time that the injury has fully healed and is free of scar tissue.

How Can You Prevent/Reduce The Risk Of Injury?

Warm-Up: It is essential that you have properly warmed up before training and matches. This should include 10-20 minutes of light cardio and stretches (dynamic). It is also important to warm up if you are a substitute for your team; it is very dangerous to come off the bench cold and will no doubt increase your rate of picking up a sport injuries.

Flexibility: This is one area that is definitely neglected, not enough athletes spend the time trying to increase their flexibility which will lead to increases in muscle length and overall joint mobility. This can include 20-30 mins of stretching three times a week, and some patients find yoga very beneficial to achieve this.

Muscle Strength: Specific gym training should be included to target the strength of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. There is a lot of debate to the ideal ratio between the two muscles.

Some will say that the quads should be twice as strong as the hamstrings while others state they should be equal.

Good Nutrition: Optimum nutrition is essential for sports performance and to help the healing process, we will be highlighting certain supplements in future blog posts.

In general, we recommend drinking 1.5 – 2 liters of water a day, taking a good multi vitamin, 1-2 grams of vitamin C a day in conjunction with a good balance diet with plenty fruit and vegetables.

Do you want to prevent injuries and improve sporting performance?

Chiropractic In Denver To Prevent Injuries And Improve Sporting Performance